Onan and Samantha are now married. Yes, a marriage without a wedding, ring, contract, or dowry. But they love each other, so I think that's enough, right?
Anyway,
Onan and Samantha were able to rent an apartment in Magic Land. Onan managed to get a job in a restaurant to earn money to pay the rent. The system in Magic Land is more lenient with the poor and outcasts compared to Cortan. However, the apartment they got was not the best, and living in it was uncomfortable.
Onan: "Well, this isn't the best place in the world, but it's the only one we can afford right now."
Samantha: "I don't like this. It's impossible for me to stay here for even a week."
Onan: "We have no other choice."
Samantha: "No. We have another option."
Onan: "What is it?"
Samantha: "Well, I have an idea. I don't know if you'll like it, but since I came here and saw those magic shows, I felt like becoming a witch. What if we train together in magic and then perform shows, and that way earn money to buy a royal and comfortable house? Magic shows here make a lot of profit."
Onan: "No, that's a bad idea."
Samantha: "Why?"
Onan: "I heard that learning magic here is very difficult and requires effort, and I don't want to exhaust myself. I also feel it doesn't suit me."
Samantha: "But think about the results we could get if we learn it. We could perform shows, earn money, and get a place a thousand times better than this."
Onan: "If you want to learn magic, then learn it. I won't stop you. I just don't have the desire to be a magician."
Samantha: "Alright. Tomorrow I will go and find a teacher to teach me."
Onan: "I want to say good luck, but I don't know… I feel like you'll fail and give up quickly."
Samantha: "Thanks for the support, dear. You really are the best husband in the world."
Onan: "I'm just trying to be realistic and honest with you."
Samantha: "I'll prove you wrong."
The next day, Samantha wakes up and starts thinking about which teacher she will train with.
Samantha: (Hmm… who should I choose? I mean, there are many magicians in Magic Land. But I think I will choose to train with a witch, not a wizard. I don't want Onan to think I'm cheating. But who… oh, I remember.)
Here, Samantha remembers Arika, the witch who attacked her before and almost killed her… Well, the fight between them wasn't the best, but it was just a misunderstanding. Also, Samantha admired her magic, so she seems like a good choice.
Samantha goes to Arika's house. She knocks on the door, but after knocking, she starts hearing shouting and arguing inside the house. This makes Samantha feel like she came at a bad time.
But Arika opens the door.
Samantha: "Oh! Hello… I umm… I heard shouting in your house. I apologize if I interrupted something important."
Arika: "It's fine. It's my father. We argue a lot. It's nothing important. Aren't you Connor's sister? What are you doing here?"
Samantha: "I want to talk to you about something in private."
Both Arika and Samantha go to one of the restaurants to discuss the matter.
Samantha: "Okay, I'll get straight to the point. I want you to teach me magic."
Arika: "Why do you want to learn it?"
Samantha explains her reason.
Arika: "Well… hmm… how should I put it politely… but your motivation is somewhat trivial. To be able to use magic for the first time, you must have a meaningful goal. A goal that is deeply connected to your character. Getting a new house is a good goal, but it's not deep."
Samantha: "Like what?"
Arika: "That's something you have to discover yourself. I wanted to become a witch because I wanted to use my magic to protect the innocent. What about you? Is there a person or something you want to protect?"
Samantha: "I don't know… I mean, there are people I care about and don't want them to be harmed, like my husband, but… I really don't want to think that someday he will be in danger and I have to protect him. I want to live in peace, away from these negative thoughts. I left my mission to liberate Cortan for this reason."
Arika: "You can't do that. We live in a dangerous world full of monsters and greedy rulers. So expect danger to come at any moment. I'm not saying you should always be cautious and anxious, but you must be prepared and have reserves."
Samantha starts thinking about Arika's words. While thinking, she realizes she has no one important in her life right now except Onan. Her parents are dead, her brother became a criminal and ended up in prison. Her kingdom was taken over by an evil ruler. Onan is all she has. Therefore, she must protect him and be with him when he faces danger.
Then Samantha expresses her thoughts to Arika and her desire to protect her husband.
Arika: "Good. That's a deep goal. Now I will bring you a small magic wand."
Remember the tree we talked about in Chapter 16? Well, from this tree, witches get their magic wands, specifically from its branches. The size of the branch represents the level of magic one can wield. So you could say this tree is the source of magic in Magic Land.
Training begins. Arika teaches Samantha the movements and techniques she must perform to use magic.
She also gives her lessons on self-control and how she must be mentally stable to use magic.
During this training, Samantha and Arika's relationship develops, and they become friends. One day, a conversation happens between them.
Samantha: "Can I ask you, what's your problem with your father?"
Arika explains her problem with her father.
Samantha: "When my homeland was invaded, I was in my castle. I saw Klaus using his black magic to kill the guards brutally. It was terrifying for me."
Arika: "Do you think I'll become like Klaus? I mean, I hate it when my father says I'll become like him, but… sometimes I think he might be right."
Samantha: "No. Honestly, you're the best and kindest girl I've met in a long time. When I was in Cortan, most girls befriended me just because I was a princess and had money. That was annoying for me. You're the first girl I feel my relationship with is sincere and genuine."
Arika: "Thanks. By the way, since you're going to become a witch, that means you have to wear a witch's outfit."
The two girls go to the place that sells clothes and buy the official witch outfit in Magic Land for Samantha.
But Samantha doesn't like the outfit and finds it somewhat ugly. So when she returns home, she makes some modifications to make it more beautiful.
The next day, Arika knocks on Samantha's apartment door to continue her training.
Samantha appears in the witch outfit she bought, but with some modifications. First, she dyed some parts red. She drew decorations on it, making the outfit prettier and more unique for Samantha.
But Arika doesn't like it.
Arika: "What did you do?!"
Samantha: "I didn't like the original outfit, so I made some modifications. Is that a problem?"
Arika: "Of course it's a problem. The original witch outfit is an official uniform that has been worn for centuries. You can't just change it simply because you didn't like it. You must return it as it was or buy a new one."
Samantha: "Okay… can I at least wear it just for today? Please."
Arika: "Fine. Just for today."
A few days later,
Arika wakes up, wears the official witch outfit, and leaves the house, only to find that all the witches in the kingdom are now wearing outfits similar to Samantha's modified outfit.
Arika is surprised and shocked by the sight. Then Samantha comes and says to her:
"Hello Arika. Are you ready to continue my training?"
Arika: "W-what happened here? Why is everyone wearing outfits similar to your modified one?"
Samantha: "Oh… when I was training with you a few days ago, one of the witches saw me and liked the modifications I made to the outfit and asked permission to copy the design, and I allowed it. Over time, the other witches also liked the design and copied it."
Arika: "But… what about respecting the original?"
Samantha: "Sometimes change isn't bad."
Arika sighs and says: "Okay."
Arika's training for Samantha focused heavily on movements, self-control, and meditation. Over time, Samantha was able to use magic. She could summon fire, control plants, transform into small animals, and summon the magic wand from far away. But… all this is not important. The important thing is that she learned to use magic in dangerous situations. She must remain stable and brave to use magic to defend herself.
Here comes the final test and the toughest challenge for Samantha.
Arika takes Samantha to the forest, and suddenly Arika disappears, leaving Samantha alone.
Samantha gets a little nervous but tries to calm herself. I mean, this isn't the first time she's been alone.
But suddenly, a giant and ferocious bear appears. Samantha tries to use magic and apply her training, but… she fails.
The bear's appearance is terrifying and makes Samantha scared and lose focus. Instead of facing the bear, she runs. While running, she trips and falls to the ground. The bear is about to eat her, but Arika intervenes and casts a spell that makes trunks come out of the ground and bind the bear.
Samantha tries to catch her breath and says: "Why did you leave me?"
Arika: "This was a test to see how you would handle the situation alone, and unfortunately… you failed miserably."
Samantha: "It was huge and terrifying. I couldn't focus."
Arika: "Focus and self-control are the most important qualities for a magician, and clearly, you don't have them. You're cowardly."
Samantha: "I'm not cowardly. I've saved my friends' lives before, but this danger was more than I could handle."
Arika: "If you can't handle facing one giant bear, how will you face the rest of the dangers? You know there are bigger and more dangerous monsters than this one."
Then Arika takes a deep breath.
Arika: "Samantha, you're my friend, and I don't want to discourage you, but I don't think magic is suitable for you. Come on, let's go back home."
Samantha returns to Magic Land, feeling frustrated. She enters her apartment, and Onan greets her.
Onan: "Things didn't go well, did they?"
Samantha looks at Onan with a sad and frustrated face. Then Onan hugs her and says:
"Don't worry. The important thing is that you're okay. I know this apartment is bad, and you want a better place, but as long as we're together, everything is fine."
Then they go to sleep. Samantha, on the bad bed, thinks. The matter wasn't just about money and the house. She wanted to become a witch to ensure Onan's safety. She had been training with Arika for days, and in the end, nothing changed? Samantha was never satisfied with this ending. So she wakes up, puts on her outfit, grabs the magic wand, and leaves the house to go to the forest and face the biggest monster there.
She took advantage of the fact that it was night and everyone was asleep to go alone, without companions, because she wanted to face the monster alone without help.
After a while, Onan, while sleeping, opens his eyes slightly and notices that his wife isn't there. He gets up from the bed and starts searching for her in the apartment but doesn't find her. He starts to feel worried and goes to Arika's house.
He knocks on Arika's door. Arika comes out, sleepy.
Arika: "Onan? What are you doing here? It's very late."
Onan: "Is my wife with you?"
Arika: "What? No."
Onan: "I'm looking for her and can't find her."
Arika: "Damn… she must have gone to the forest looking for a monster to use magic on. That fool will only hurt herself just to prove I'm wrong."
Arika transforms into a bird and starts searching for Samantha in the forest. Onan rides his horse, Storm, and also starts searching.
Meanwhile, Samantha reaches a place where a giant ghoul is eating a deer.
Behind the rocks, Samantha starts thinking:
(Okay, I can do this. I'm sure I can do it. I mean, it's just a giant, tall ghoul with big muscles and sharp fangs, and I'm… a girl… a trainee… maybe I'm wrong, maybe I should go back home and give up… No, I can't let fear control me and hold me back.)
Samantha comes out and throws a rock at the ghoul. The ghoul turns and sees Samantha.
Samantha points the wand at it and tries as hard as possible to focus, but she can't. Her body trembles, and she looks uncertain. The ghoul approaches and strikes the wand with its finger, knocking it away from Samantha. Then it grabs her with its huge hand and tries to eat her.
Here, Samantha surrenders to her fate, but within a second, her mind starts imagining if Onan were in her place. What if the ghoul was about to eat Onan? Here, Samantha finally manages to focus, summons the wand from afar, grabs it, and shoots fire, injuring the ghoul's face. The ghoul drops Samantha.
Samantha falls to the ground, then gets up, takes a deep breath, and starts focusing. She summons fire, produces a large amount of fire, manipulates it, and shapes it into a phoenix.
Meanwhile, Onan and Arika continue searching for Samantha and don't find her, but from afar, they see a giant phoenix appear and decide to go to it.
Back to Samantha, she uses the phoenix to attack the ghoul and burns it to death.
Samantha inside her mind: (Wait… I did it? I did it. I! Really! I did it!!!)
Then she jumps with joy and happiness, but then she sees Onan and Arika looking at her.
Arika: "Samantha… what were you thinking? Going out at night to look for monsters and use magic on them just to prove I'm wrong? Are you crazy?"
Samantha: "I'm sorry… I just… I couldn't sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about it…"
Arika: "Well… I have to admit this is also my fault. I shouldn't have told you to give up. I underestimated your worth."
Onan looks at the burned ghoul's body, surprised.
Samantha: "Onan… are you mad at me too?"
Onan: "Mad? Why would I be mad? This was the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life. You transformed from an ordinary princess into a powerful witch. I'm proud of you."
Onan's words make Samantha smile.
Then the three of them return home.
After a while, Samantha performs magic shows. In one of her shows, she creates a fiery phoenix, makes it fly in the sky and spin around, and the sight amazes and impresses the audience.
In another show, she creates a group of flowers that emit a pleasant fragrance, perfuming the place and improving the audience's breathing.
These shows allow Samantha to earn a lot of money, enough to buy a new royal and comfortable house.
Onan, after working in the restaurant for a while, is able to buy a silver ring and give it to Samantha, making them officially married.
Samantha is happy because she got a new, good house… but she's even happier because she was able to become a witch and have enough power to protect her husband.